|
Student Profile: Andrew Zidel For Andrew, 27, this career path represents a natural evolution – the outgrowth of a longstanding commitment to the Jewish community fostered since childhood. Andrew grew up in the close-knit Jewish community of Minneapolis, Minnesota, attended Jewish overnight camp, held leadership positions in NFTY and participated in the Alexander Muss High School in Israel Program. As an undergraduate at the University of Kansas, Andrew belonged to a Jewish fraternity and served on various Hillel boards. After graduation, he spent a year as a Hillel Jewish Campus Service Corps Fellow, worked at a Minneapolis synagogue, taught religious school and served as head of education at Herzl Camp in Wisconsin. Upon deciding to immerse himself in formal graduate-level Jewish studies, Andrew moved east to pursue an master’s degree in Jewish studies at Gratz College. Soon after, he decided to expand his credentials and enroll in graduate certificate programs in Jewish education as well as in Jewish non-profit management. Andrew was able to complete all three graduate programs simultaneously because of the option to take some of his courses online. “At first, I decided to add a graduate certificate in Jewish education because those classes interested me and I found it easy to apply what I was learning in my Jewish studies courses,” he says. However, Andrew also yearned to apply the conceptual instruction he was receiving in a tangible manner within the Jewish community. The graduate certificate in Jewish non-profit management fit the bill perfectly. Courses in such areas as strategic planning, communication and conflict resolution, and fundraising provided him with the skill sets to jumpstart a career as a Jewish communal professional. Andrew especially enjoyed the online classes because of the flexible schedule, interactive online platforms, educational quality and class pace. “I have been really impressed with the technical skills of the instructors,” he says. “They have been able to supply a wide variety of multi-media materials using the online platform.” For Andrew Zidel, Gratz College has steered the future direction of his life in more ways than one. “While at Gratz, I learned much more than I bargained for about myself and my life’s goals,” says Andrew. And in fall 2006, he plans to marry a fellow Gratz “alum.” |
Andrew Zidel credits his career in Jewish communal service to Gratz College, where he earned a Master of Arts in Jewish Studies and Graduate Certificates in Jewish Non-Profit Management and Jewish Education. Upon graduation, Andrew landed a job as Community Building Associate for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s Delaware County and Chester County Regions. Andrew is responsible for Jewish outreach, programming and community partnership.